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There is no mention in the Domesday Book of a settlement where the current town is. There is little mention of the town until the 15th century when the population had risen enough for a chapel of ease to be built.[1]

The place's name is derived from the Old Norse word hals, meaning "neck" or "pass between mountains".[2][3]

The town was granted a charter to hold markets by King William III in 1699. It allowed for a weekly Tuesday market and two fairs a year. In 1887 an auction market was established in the town that held cattle sales fortnightly. In addition, five cattle fairs and three sheep fairs were held each year. Soon after, four cheese fairs spread over the year also became a regular event in the town.[1][4]

The village once had a railway station that was the terminus of the Hawes branch of the Midland Railway and an end-on terminus of the line from Northallerton from its opening in 1878 to its closure in April 1954. British Railways kept the line to Garside Junction open for passengers until 1959. The railway originally provided a boost to the lead, stone and coal mining in the area by giving access to mass freight transport. Estimates in the late 19th century put the carriage of flagstones, for example, at some 15,000 tons per month.[4] The Wensleydale Railway Association has plans to rebuild the railway from Northallerton (from its current western terminus at Redmire) to Garsdale including re-opening the station in the village. Opening the Northallerton station and installation of 22 miles of track (including a stop at Scruton) was completed in 2014. Beyond that, the Association hopes to rebuild the line west of Redmire to Castle Bolton, Aysgarth, Hawes, and Garsdale, but a schedule for those extensions has not been announced.[5][6]

On 5 July 2014, the Tour de France Stage 1 from Leeds to Harrogate passed through the village.[7]

The village lies within the Richmond UK Parliament constituency. It also lies within the Upper Dales electoral division of North Yorkshire County Council and the Hawes & High Abbotside ward of Richmondshire District Council.[8]

The 2001 UK census showed that the population was split 50% male to 50% female. The religious constituency was made of 82% Christian, 1.5% Jewish and the rest stating no religion or not stating at all. The ethnic make-up was 97.9% White British, 1.3% White other, 0.5% Mixed ethnic and 0.3% Chinese. There were 601 dwellings.[11]

The 2011 UK census showed that the population was split 50.1% male to 49.91% female. The religious constituency was made of 70.8% Christian, 3.8% Buddhist, 0.1% Muslim and the rest stating no religion or not stating at all. The ethnic make-up was 91.4% White British, 3.5% White Other, 0.3% Mixed Ethnic, 4.2% British Asian and 0.4% each British Black. There were 683 dwellings.[12]

The parish of Hawes covers the large areas of moorland on Dodd Fell, Snays Fell, Stags Fell and Widdale Fell and includes the River Ure tributaries of Widdale Beck and Gayle Beck. The latter flows through the town of Hawes. There are many abandoned lead mines, quarries and limekilns in the parish indicating its industrial past. A short distance form the town on Gayle Beck are the Aysgill Force waterfalls. The highest point in the parish is Great Knoutberry Hill at 672 metres (2,205 ft). The parish extends as far north as Hellgill Bridge along a narrow strip either side of the Ure.[8]

Hawes Community Primary School provides primary education for the town and nearby settlements.[14] It was established in 1878 and the school retains log books dating back to those dates. Pupils would receive secondary education at The Wensleydale School & Sixth Form in Leyburn.[15] The town has a retained Fire Station, which means that they are crewed by firefighters who provide on-call cover from home or their place of work.[16]

The main attraction is the Wensleydale Creamery Centre which was established by former workers of the original Hawes Dairy in 1992. It produces the eponymous cheese to traditional recipes following those first done by French monks in the 12th century. The centre has won many prestigious cheese awards, including Supreme Champion for its Wensleydale Blue in 2012. The cheeses produced by the Creamery are undergoing the final stages of an application for Protected Food Name Status.[17]

The church in Hawes is dedicated to St Margaret of Antioch. The current building was rebuilt in 1850 on the site of the former chapel of ease and is a Grade II listed building.[18] There were Wesleyan and Congregational chapels in the village as well as the Sandemanians. In keeping with many settlements in Wensleydale, there was also a Friends Meeting House in Hawes.[1][4]

The current Methodist Church in Hawes was built in 1856 and is part of the Wensleydale Circuit. Previously, worshippers had to attend the chapel in nearby Gayle.[19]

^"In 2014 we expect to open the line to a new station at Northallerton West which will give us a first, temporary, presence in the County Town, and Scruton will also open as the first intermediate stop on this section. Passenger services will then run for 22 miles . . . In the longer term, we intend to rebuild the line west of Redmire to Castle Bolton, Aysgarth, Hawes and eventually Garsdale on the famous Settle to Carlisle Railway." the Wesleydale Railway Association website, accessed 5 December 2013